The New Target
by Lazymeerkat
Summary: 'Hey guys, missed me? Just a heads up, I'll be attending the party Thursday night and take the sword with me. See ya! lver P.S. I hope I'll see you there, my dear friend Frannypants'


**Disclaimer:** Characters belong to Himaruya. The prompt I am using are from an old challenge I am not doing, but I really liked the prompts so... I'll credit it anyway, because it seems right, you'll find the link on my profile!

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'_Hey guys, missed me? Just a heads up, I'll be attending the party Thursday night and take the sword with me. See ya! _

_P.S. I hope I'll see you there, my dear friend Frannypants!'_

_He smiled as he read over his note again, before leaving it on the glass case, it would have been so easy to just get that lovely treasure with him right there and right then, but, where was the fun in that? Alfred chuckled to himself, before jumping off the window and disappearing into the night._

"It just sounds ridiculous to me. Why would you ever think that's a good idea?" Arthur shook his head, leaning comfortably on the couch, as he looked up at his friend.

"Because that's the only way to stop him!" Francis' thick accent, mixed with his hysterical behaviour, made him sound funny, rather than anything else, in his ears.

"Wouldn't Antonio or Gilbert be better? They're officers, they're trained. I'm just a journalist, I'm not qualified for this..."

Francis chuckled, interrupting him "Ah, my poor, silly, little Arthur..." He sat by his side, swinging his arm behind Arthur's shoulders "Can't you see that this is the strongest point of my plan? That is exactly why I'm asking you to do this." He picked the folded sword from the coffee table, handing it to the Brit "We both have to gain from this; I will finally arrest that criminal and you will have the scoop of the century!"

Arthur took the sword the French was offering him and unfolded it, studying its features; it was indeed a wonderful piece of art, unvaluable. It was clear why he, of all people, had set his eyes on it, anyone would want to steal such a treasure.

Francis noticed how his friend studied it, interested, and smiled "It's a masterpiece. It's worth dozens of millions of dollars, I'm sure you can see why it tickled his interest."

Arthur raised his brows and blinked surprised "I thought J-Silver didn't steal for money." He placed the sword back on the table and picked the note, written behind the usual Joker card, that had been found by the police a week before, smiling slightly as he read it.

"P.S. I hope I'll see you there, my dear friend Frannypants!" He read out loud, before laughing "You know, I don't really understand your hatred, Francis, everyone loves him." He chuckled and looked at his friends, it was fun to tease him about that matter.

"Oh, mon Dieu, Arthur!" He stood "He's a thief! People like him just because he goes around making fun of us, but now I've finally got the chance to catch him! Will you help me or not? Don't tell me you are on his side?"

"I'm on no one's side, Francis. I'm a journalist, I seek the truth and describe facts." He sighed and stood up "If I'm going to help you, it's only because I want the exclusive on th-...!" He stopped as he felt two arms wrapping around him, Francis hugging him tightly "Thank you Arthur! I knew it I could have counted on you!"

"A-All right! Now let me go!" He pushed him away, straightening his shirt and tie and clearing his throat "I'll do it, ok? But if anything happens to me I'll have your balls, frog." He sighed and opened the door, walking outside and sighing as the cold air hit him.

Arthur hugged his coat close to himself, before gasping as he bumped straight into someone "O-Oh, sorry...!" He looked up, blinking, a little taken aback as his eyes met a pair of dazzling blue ones. He tried speaking, but then the man chuckled, interrupting him "I apologize. Are you hurt?" The man smiled brightly at him and the Brit felt heat rushing to his cheeks, before pulling away.

"I am fine, I'm sorry. It was my fault, I should have paid more attention, n-now, if you'll excuse me I really should go." He turned and hurried down the road, still confused, who was that man? He looked familiar, yet, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't remember where he had seen him. The Brit shook his head, he had way more important matters to deal with now.

Alfred watched him go, a little surprised, he honestly had thought Francis would have found someone more suitable to protect the sword, he then chuckled slightly "Really now... You still underestimate me after all these years? Oh well, I will see you later..." He looked at the business card he had picked from the other's pocket "...Arthur." He whispered to himself, before turning, heading the opposite direction.

Arthur adjusted his mask and his tie, before looking at Francis "Are you sure this is going to work?" He asked, feeling suddenly worried and nervous.

Francis waved him off "Oh, nothing bad is going to happen to you, mon ami. But you really shouldn't hang out with me or any other agent, we don't want him to realise you have connections with the police, right? Off you go, drink something, have fun, we have everything under control."

Before Arthur could say anything, Francis had already disappeared into the crowd, he sighed, frowning "Why did I agree to this stupid thing?" He murmured, before looking around and spotting an empty seat on a couch in the corner. He sat down and started looking around, his hand firmly on the precious sword hanging from his waist.

Alfred slid a hand through his hair as he picked up a glass of wine, studying his surroundings, not that he needed to, he knew his plan by heart, just thirty minutes more and the sword would have been in his hands. He suddenly stopped, his eyes landing on a familiar figure who was sitting alone in the corner; he smiled to himself, no harm in having some fun while he waited.

"Hello?" Arthur looked up, blinking at the man in front of him "Yes?" He finally spoke "Do I know you?" He watched him chuckle and shake his head.

"No, no we don't know each other. But I saw you sitting here all by yourself and I thought you might be in need of some company."

Arthur couldn't hold back a snort as he turned his head away "Well, seems like you were wrong, I don't need any company, thank you." He quickly glanced at the taller male, smirking pleased as he saw him blinking confused and, apparently, taken aback "What? You're not used to being rejected?" He frowned as the stranger's features relaxed, breaking again in a wide smile.

"Actually, you're right, I'm not. But this just makes it more interesting, doesn't it? Come on, this is one beautiful night, let's not ruin it." He grabbed his hand and, without waiting for Arthur's response, pulled him with him.

"H-Hey!" The Englishman tried pulling his arm back, quickly giving up "I can walk by myself you know?" He mumbled as they stopped in front of a table and his arm was finally released. "If you're going to drag me around without my consent, shouldn't you at least tell me your name?"

Alfred picked two glasses of wine, handing one to Arthur "Right, how rude of me. I apologise. The name's... Well, you can call me Alfred, mr. Kirkland."

He furrowed his brows "How do you know my name?"

"Let's say I'm a fan of your works. I always look for your articles everyday. And the mask really doesn't make it too difficult to recognise you either."

Arthur blushed, clearing his throat "W-Well, thank you, I-I suppose."

Alfred glanced at his watch, ten more minutes, he smiled and then took Arthur's hand "Let's dance, shall we?"

Again, Arthur found himself being suddenly pulled away by the tall American "W-What...?" Before he could add anything more, they were already pressed together, moving slowly, following the music.

"Come on, I promise I won't step on your feet, stop being such a party-pooper." The taller blond winked at him and kept moving gracefully, leading Arthur.

It wasn't that bad, the Brit decided, the music was nice, food was good and company... He looked up at his partner, letting his gaze linger for a couple of seconds, taking in all the details he could. "Alfred..." He called the other, softly, before the lights went off, cutting him off.

"What the...?" He instinctively tightened his grip on his partner, relaxing as he felt Alfred doing the same.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He whispered, before pulling him towards the closest emergency exit.

Arthur followed him, everything happening too quickly for him to register where they were going, until he felt the cold air hitting his skin, making him shiver.

"W-What... What are we doing on the rooftop?" The journalist asked, taking off his mask and throwing it away "We can't stay here, we need to go back to Francis! I need to... Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

Alfred took a deep breath and stretched his arms above his head "Yes, yes, I'm listening. I'm telling you, there's no need to go and disturb Frannypants."

'Frannypants'? Why did it sound familiar...?

Alfred chuckled and took a step closer to Arthur "You look confused. I'll be honest, I'm a bit disappointed, I thought you'd have been smarter than this."

Arthur was watching him, frozen on his spot "You...! You are J-Silver!"

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!" He bowed "The one and only." He continued, taking a few steps closer.

Arthur reached for the sword he was meant to protect, holding it tightly "D-Don't come near, Francis will have noticed I'm gone and he'll be here any moment now! And there's no way I'm giving you this!"

He blinked, before pouting, leaving Arthur speechless "You really think I brought you up here to forcefully take the sword? That'd be so uncool! Besides! I stole the real one this afternoon, right before they could give it to you." Alfred smirked, proud of himself.

"What? No, there's no way! I-I..." He moved back and pulled out the sword, studying it carefully, was it really fake?

"Actually I did plan on taking it after the blackout and such... But then I saw who Frannypants decided to have to protect the sword and... I changed my plans." He leant down, so he was looking at Arthur directly in his eyes. "You were too... Interesting."

Arthur forced down a bright blush and opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly loud shouts came from inside, he immediately recognised Francis' voice.

Alfred just sighed "I really wish we could have spent a little more time together, Artie. Oh, well. Seems like I'll need to take my leave now. Until then..." He leant in, pressing a kiss to his cheek "Take care and don't miss me too much!" Before the journalist could add anything more, he jumped off the railing. At that the Brit ran, his eyes wide in fear, but the other had already disappeared "What... How?"

"Arthur!" He snapped out of his thoughts as Francis approached him, worried "What happened? Are you hurt? I swear I will cut his head off!"

"C-Calm down Francis... He did nothing to me, I'm all right! But..." He held up the fake sword, showing it to his friend "He... He managed to escape, I'm sorry."

He shook his head "I should be apologising, I shouldn't have involved you in all this. But, tell me, did you manage to see him?"

Arthur shook his head "No... He kept his mask on the whole time, I'm sorry."

Francis nodded "It's all right, I'll have someone escort you home, you rest, I'll take care of this now."

He just nodded, too lost in thoughts; he could still feel the tingling feeling of Alfred's lips on his cheek, his voice, how they had danced and how the American had apparently set all this up, just to meet him. He was so distracted, he didn't notice how the car had come to a stop in front of his house, until Antonio touched his arm "Arthur? We're here. Are you sure you're all right...?"

"Y-Yes! Sorry, I was just spacing out! You can go, I'm sure Francis needs you and you have a lot of work to do. Thank you for driving me home."

He smiled, relieved and nodded "No problems! If you need anything just call us ok? I'll let Francis know you're safe at home, bye!" With that he drove off, leaving Arthur alone. He forced himself to move and walk inside his apartment, kicking off his shoes and dropping on the couch, exhausted both physically and mentally.

Soon his cat was at his feet, mewling loudly and rubbing himself against his owner, Arthur just groaned, turning away, but soon gave up "All right, all right, I'll give you your food you selfish brat." He reluctantly stood, walking inside his kitchen, stopping abruptly as he noticed a single red rose on the table, with a small note attached to it; he didn't remember receiving any. His cat forgotten he picked it up, turning the note, it was written on a Joker Card.

'_Good evening, Artie! Again, I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly before. I decided to bring you a little present as an apology. Also, I wanted you to be the first to know that I've already set my eyes on my next target. It's a bit different from my usual ones, but he's cute, I really think he's worth it ;) It'll be... Interesting._

_Enjoy your rose, I'll see you soon enough._

_J-Silver'_

"No Fucking way!"

Alfred chuckled softly to himself as he heard the familiar voice shouting, leaning slightly to take a better look through the window of the building in front of him.

"It doesn't look like he took it too well, Al." A blond spoke from behind his shoulders, but the American just shrugged "Don't worry Mattie, he's already crushing on me I can tell." He turned to face him "Who could resist me anyway?"

Matthew snorted and shook his head "Right, who could resist a creep who broke into your house to leave you a rose and a note telling him you're his next target?"

Alfred blinked, furrowing his brows "Well, that doesn't sound so romantic if you put it like that..."

"No, Alfred. It doesn't. And that's because that's /not/ romantic."

"Ouch, that hurt, bro!" He pouted "He'll fall for me! We're meant to be, I can tell!"

The other just sighed and turned "I'm going home, you stay out and get yourself caught for all I care."

"You're a bastard!" He called after his brother, before glancing one last time at Arthur's flustered figure, he would have definitely won the man over and showed his stupid brother.

He was J-Silver, after all, and he always got what he wanted.


End file.
